Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I missed Roll Call Vote 222 (H. Res. 187) and 223 (H.R. 876). Had I been present, I would have voted YES on both.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 187 and to express my growing alarm that we have millions around the globe on the verge of starvation despite the fact that we live in a world that produces more than enough food to feed all its inhabitants.

H. Res. 187 rightfully calls for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to continue to provide emergency relief (food and other essential resources) to those affected in South Sudan. It also calls on USAID to collaborate with international relief organizations and others to ensure that aid gets where it is most needed. The resolution also condemns violence and threats against aid workers assisting those in need and calls on the leaders of South Sudan to cease the fighting so that these resources may reach those who need them.

This resolution focuses on the situation in South Sudan where 7.5 million are at imminent risk. But unfortunately, at least 20 million people around the world are facing severe food shortages as a result of below-average rainfall and conflict. That is equivalent to the populations of the States of Connecticut, Iowa, Utah, Mississippi, Arkansas, Nevada, Kansas, and New Mexico combined. And conflicts in South Sudan, Yemen Nigeria, and Somalia are making bad situations even worse.

People are starving and we cannot stand by and watch. I implore my colleagues to support U.S. leadership and funding to address this dire situation. That's what this resolution is about. The United States has the ability to save the lives of tens of millions of people and this resolution is crystal clear that we should do so.

The U.S. cannot end these crises by itself. However, my conscious-- and I hope that all of my colleagues would not be clear knowing that I could have done more as a Member of Congress to respond to the suffering and deaths of millions of innocent adults and children across the world facing starvation. This resolution and the recognition of the problem is a good start. I urge my colleagues to also support the inclusion of additional funding in the FY 2017 funding bill that we may consider this week to prevent widespread famine and cut off suffering from hunger as an obvious next step. It is also vital that we provide adequate resources in FY 2018 as well to save the lives of men, women and children.

I want to thank my colleague, Congresswoman Karen Bass, for her leadership and focus on this issue as well as Congressman Donald Payne, Jr. and Rep. Chris Smith. I also want to thank the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Royce and Mr. Engel for their leadership and efforts as well.

Now is the time for the U.S. to illustrate its global leadership and act to save lives.

Mr. Speaker, I regrettably missed votes on Wednesday, March 15, 2017 that occurred while I was attending a meeting at the White House. Had I been present, I would have voted Yes on Roll Call 185 (the motion to recommit H.R. 1101), No on Roll Call 186 (passage of H.R. 1101) and Yes on Roll Call 187 (passage of H.R. 1238).

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 205.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize John Bartkowski who is retiring from the Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers on March 31, 2017. He retires as CEO and President at the organization after serving for nearly 30 years.

Mr. Bartkowski has spent much of his career at the Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers making an extraordinary impact on the lives of the people they serve through both innovation and growth. When John started at Sixteenth Street they had one storefront location and now have 5 sites. Over the decades he has led the organization as a tireless advocate and provider of quality care for community health concerns to make a real difference in the lives of the people they serve. 84 percent of the individuals they serve are Hispanic/Latino, 19 percent are uninsured and 65 percent are at 100 percent of the Federal Poverty Level or under. There is a huge need for quality bilingual services and Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers has met that need on all levels.

While at the helm of Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers some of John's most notable achievements in addition to expansion include: the creation of an Environmental Health Department to address lead poisoning and asthma issues, formation of HIV/AIDS outreach which was later expanded to a Department, addition of Behavioral Health Services, Accreditation by the Joint Commission and initiation of the Annual Celebrity Roast to raise funds for the clinic. While he could have been satisfied with maintaining a focus solely on the clinic, John Bartkowski sought to better the entire community. He applied for funding and worked with partners to improve blighted areas like the Menomonee Valley and brought bike trails and new businesses to the area. John truly believes in the concept that a society becomes more vibrant and productive when it is inclusive and he has walked that talk.

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to know and work with John Bartkowski for many years on a myriad of health issues. I join with friends and colleagues to congratulate him as he transitions into a different phase of his life.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to honor John Bartkowski. The citizens of the Fourth Congressional District and the State of Wisconsin are privileged to have someone of his ability and dedicated service working on their behalf for so many years. I thank him for all that he has done and I am indeed honored for these reasons to pay tribute to John Bartkowski.

Mr. Speaker, the month of March is when social workers throughout the country celebrate Social Work Month. I am here today to honor a special group of social workers who work in one of the most important institutions in our society: our schools.

To honor the vital role school social workers serve in our communities, I am proud to introduce H.R. 171, to recognize the many contributions of school social workers and to designate this week, March 5 through 11, as School Social Work Week.

School social workers are critical members of a school's educational team. They strengthen partnerships between students' homes, schools, and communities as they work to ensure student academic success. School social workers are uniquely trained and specially equipped to mentor students who face emotional, academic, and behavioral barriers to learning.

Their expertise guides students through serious life challenges, including poverty, disability, sexual and physical abuse, addiction, bullying, and various forms of familial separation such as military deployment, divorce,

and incarceration. We now understand how these adverse childhood experiences and chronic exposures to the stressors affect the developing brain, particularly in a school setting where the academic demands are high and the social pressures can be life changing.

We must better support these students to overcome these barriers to success. We now have the science and research to inform our policies so that we are not just funneling these children out of a school system and into a prison system. We must prioritize the economic benefits of effective and preventive solutions and provide the necessary supports.

School social workers provide these services in our schools by connecting students and families to available resources in the community, particularly in areas that have been hit hardest by poverty. School social workers improve the success rate of children coming from a disadvantaged background, lending a much-needed hand in our efforts to create a more equal society. Families and communities want these services for their children. School districts should prioritize and invest in staffing models and programs that offer mental health services.

Research tells us that individuals who suffer from mental illness will have developed these symptoms by age 14. The Centers for Disease Control finds that behavioral disorders are increasing in youth and presenting themselves at younger ages. Fewer than one in five of these children will ever receive needed mental health services.

We also know that suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people ages 10 through 24. School mental health programs provided and enhanced by school social workers are critical to early identification of mental health problems.

Research indicates that school mental health programs improve educational outcomes by decreasing absences, decreasing disciplinary referrals, and improving academic achievement. Our students deserve the support. Our students need school social workers to help them succeed.

Unfortunately, there are often not enough school social workers available in school districts to meet the many, many needs of at-risk youth. The 1-to-250 maximum recommended ratio of school social workers to students is exceeded in almost all school districts in the United States, with some experiencing ratios as high as 1 to 21,000.

As we seek to improve our educational opportunities, maximizing the new opportunities and flexibility of the Every Student Achieves Act, let us use this week to recognize the contributions of school social workers and the vital role they play in helping our children reach their fullest potential.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Michael ``Mike'' Balistriere who is retiring from Milwaukee Area Labor Council on March 17, 2017. Mike is a labor leader, veteran, father and advocate.

Mike Balistriere has been a proud union member since 1969 when he began his career at Evinrude Motors. Mike served in Vietnam as a United States Marine from 1969-1971 and returned to Evinrude after his service. He became an active member with the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1302, while at Evinrude and was elected Chief Steward in 1974 and served on the bargaining committee for 15 years. As a member of USW Local 1302, Mike served on a variety of committees at the behest of his union.

Mr. Balistriere was called upon by his International Union to help with the Firestone/Bridgestone strike as part of a statewide committee. The United Steelworkers won that hard fought fight benefiting the workers which led to the merger of the United Steelworkers and Rubber Workers. In 1997, Mike left Evinrude to assume the position of Community Service Liaison at the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and later for the Milwaukee Area Labor Council.

In his position as Community Service Liaison, Mr. Balistriere has served as a member of the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council, Co-Founder of the Veterans Community Relations Team, and Treasurer for the War Memorial Board. Further, he worked closely with the HIRE Center, Wisconsin Election Protection, and chaired the St. Bens Annual Cook Out for the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County for the past 10 years.

Some of Mike's notable achievements include preventing the hostile takeover of the Milwaukee County War Memorial, moving the statue of General MacArthur to the lakefront, meeting with the Japanese, Korean, Australian, and the Philippines consulates in Chicago about the Gen. MacArthur Memorial Lakefront Event. One of Mike Balistriere's proudest moments was to lead the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance before President Barack Obama speeches at both the Bradley Center and Laborfest.

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to know Mike Balistriere and work with him for many years on labor issues, veterans' issues and voting rights. I join with friends and his wife, Cindy and children Rebecca, Michael Jr., Sarah, and Nathan to congratulate him as he transitions into a different phase of his life.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to honor Mike Balistriere and to call him friend. The citizens of the Fourth Congressional District and the State of Wisconsin are privileged to have someone of ability and dedicated service working on their behalf for so many years. I thank him for all that he has done. I am honored for these reasons to pay tribute to Mike Balistriere.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment is very simple. It just says that the provisions of the SCRUB Act will not apply to any rule or set of rules relating to any obligation of the Federal Government with respect to tribal government or supporting tribal sovereignty and self- determination.

Mr. Chair, the United States has a unique legal and political relationship with Indian tribal governments, as outlined in the Constitution, treaties, statutes, executive orders, and judicial decisions. However, too often they have been overlooked when it comes to Federal policies that will have a direct impact on that relationship and that sovereignty.

My concern is that, without explicit language, H.R. 998 would simply continue this mistake, which has had devastating consequences for our Native American brothers and sisters. It has been a decades-long policy of the Federal Government to engage Native American tribes in a government-to-government relationship that respects their right to self-government and self-determination, and my amendment seeks to ensure that nothing in this bill will undermine those efforts.

My amendment would exempt rules that will have an impact on this government-to-government relationship from the bill's requirements. This will, of course, require agencies and this commission to examine the impact on this special relationship in each rule that they bring to the chopping block. It makes clear that protecting the sovereignty and promoting the economic, political, and social self-determination for the Native American community remains a pressing priority.

Now, just 2 days ago, Mr. Chairman, the House considered and passed a bill, H.R. 228, the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Consolidation Act, to make permanent a program that allows tribes to combine up to 13 different Federal, employment, childcare, and job training funding sources.

Of course, the sponsor of this legislation, Representative Don Young, a true champion for Native Americans, described it well. He said: ``This program is what tribal self-determination is all about. Tribes understand their members best and know how to use these tools for creating expanding job opportunities in their communities.''

The same thing with NAHASDA, which has a lot of innovations, and I have worked with Congressman Steve Pearce and Representative Cole and others. Once NAHASDA reauthorization becomes law, it, too, might fall short because of this particular bill. I fear that the SCRUB Act's reckless rush to repeal rules based primarily only on one consideration, cost to the economy, will adversely affect Native Americans.

How will members of this commission be experts on the sovereignty and government-to-government relationship with tribes? There is no appointee for Native American communities on this commission, on the needs of native communities, on efforts by Congress to promote self- determination. The bill requires zero such knowledge and participation.

Additionally, simply requiring agencies to blindly--blindly--cut regulations is just nonsensical by itself.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, this is precisely why the Members should adopt my amendment: because this is an unelected commission, and the relationship between Native American tribes is a government-to- government relationship.

If the gentleman is correct that we need to review regulations and change them, then that is something that

needs to happen with Native Americans seated at the table. As my good friend Linda Sanchez often points out, when you are not at the table, you are definitely on the menu.

History has shown that failure by the Federal Government to consider the impact on tribal communities and to include their voices in Federal decisions has often left undesirable and devastating policy. Such consideration is disrespectful of their sovereignty and disrespectful of our Constitution. Such consideration is a critical need for us to create and maintain a strong and productive Federal-tribal relationship. I urge my colleagues to support my amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Alwin Lopez Jarreau, also known as Al Jarreau. He was a vocalist, musician, songwriter, and father. Al was born on March 12, 1940 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and passed away at the age of 76, on February 12, 2017.

He was born into a musical family; his father was a pastor with a fine voice and his mother, the church's pianist. Al began singing at the age of 4, harmonizing with his 5 siblings. He graduated from Lincoln High School in 1958 where his love of music and singing deepened. He earned a bachelor's degree from Ripon College in Wisconsin in 1962, and a master's degree from the University of Iowa. He worked as a rehabilitation counselor for people with disabilities. Al Jarreau's full-time musical career began when he was nearly 30 and he could no longer resist the pull of jazz.

Al Jarreau was a versatile vocalist who recorded 21 albums, won seven Grammys and remains the only vocalist in Grammy history to win in the jazz, pop, and R&B categories. He was proud that his mix of styles prevented him from being easily categorized. Al Jarreau had a vocal style that was appealing and highly unusual. He could produce an array of vocalizations and was nicknamed the acrobat of scat because of this talent. Al reached a national audience with his second album We Got By, released in 1975. In 1965, he recorded his first album entitled ``1965'' belatedly released in 1982 which is esteemed by jazz connoisseurs today. In 1981 he had his biggest hit with the song ``We're in This Love Together.'' He won his first Grammy in 1978, for his album ``Look to the Rainbow'' and his last in 2007, for best traditional R&B vocal performance. He shared the award with George Benson and Jill Scott for their collaborative performance, ``God Bless the Child.'' Among Mr. Jarreau's best-known recordings was the theme song for the television series, ``Moonlighting.''

Al Jarreau was proud of his hometown and at the beginning of most performances announced that he was from Milwaukee. The Wisconsin Foundation for School Music honored Jarreau with a Lifetime Achievement Award in October 2016, and established an endowment in his name for Milwaukee Public School music programs. He was concerned that children in Milwaukee and across the country would not have exposure to music and the arts. In fact, Al Jarreau's parting request to mourners was that contributions be made to children from his hometown in lieu of flowers and gifts.

He leaves behind many friends, admirers and family members to mourn his passing including his wife, Susan, his son Ryan and two brothers, Marshall and Appie; and a sister, Rose Marie Freeman. Al Jarreau made a positive impact on Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the world and I am proud that he hails from Milwaukee. Mr. Speaker, for these reasons I rise to pay tribute to a man whose legacy will continue to benefit the Fourth Congressional District.

Mr. Speaker, on February 13, 2017, I missed four votes as a result of personal illness. Had I been present, I would have voted YES on H.R. 609, YES on H.R. 512, YES on H.R. 244, YES on H.R. 974.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Fran Kaplan who has served as a mentor, educator, community leader, social worker, translator, writer, administrator and self-described ``social justice activist'' for nearly five decades. Fran Kaplan turned 70 on February 9, 2017 and in her retirement has volunteered hundreds of hours a year serving as coordinator of America's Black Holocaust Museum's (ABHM) online presence at www.abhmuseum.org. She helps curate the 2900+ exhibits covering 400 years of African American history, and co- facilitates ABHM's film/dialogue series, helping Americans understand the past in order to heal the present.

Fran was born in Lafayette, Indiana and at an early age came to believe that racial/ethnic hatred and power struggles were the principal cause of suffering in the U.S. and around the world. She had experienced the ways that racism distorts the psyches and lives of both victim and victimizer while growing up Jewish in a small Indiana town.

Dr. Kaplan was able to participate in a field work placement as a graduate student at the University of Michigan with New Detroit, a black led organization that arose to revive the city after the uprisings in 1971. Fran is a fluent Spanish-speaker and is Jewish and was tasked to conduct anti-racism training and organizing for whites and other non-blacks.

Since that internship, she continued to find many opportunities to apply what she learned there. The focus of her life's work has been the rights of women, children, minorities and the poor, and ensuring access to community resources for marginalized groups. Dr. Kaplan has founded and administered a number of community organizations, among them a women's health center, a farm worker self-help organization, and a training center for Spanish-speaking early childhood educators. Fran is also a published writer and the producer of award-winning short and feature films. Her co-authored screenplay, Fruit of the Tree, about the life of lynching survivor James Cameron, founder of the ABHM, has won awards in national and regional competitions. The international trainer-consultant for a global parenting education program, Fran authored and co-produced its Spanish-language videos, books, and games. With Dr. Robert Smith, Dr. Kaplan curated and edited Lynching: An American Folkway, a digital transmedia anthology distributed by Biblioboard, Inc. to libraries across the country.

Fran has been recognized by various organizations in Milwaukee and Wisconsin for promoting racial justice and providing leadership

in children's and human rights, but perhaps her finest achievement is being able to do all that while taking part in the growth and development of several wonderful young people as a mother, foster parent, and ``bubbe'' (grandma).

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to recognize Dr. Fran Kaplan on her 70th birthday. She has left a legacy of advocacy and compassion. She is a true trailblazer and my friend for nearly 40 years. And now, Fran has returned to direct anti-racism organizing and education, her first true calling, at ABHM and has finally come home. The citizens of the Fourth Congressional District, the State of Wisconsin and the nation have benefited tremendously from her dedicated service. I am honored for these reasons to pay tribute to Dr. Fran Kaplan.

Mr. Speaker, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (PPWI) President and CEO Teri Huyck will retire on February 3, 2017, after leading Wisconsin's largest most trusted non-profit health care organization for nine years.

Teri Huyck came to Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin during a difficult time as interim director in 2008. She had been the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Planned Parenthood Chicago. Upon her arrival, the morale and financial stability of the Wisconsin Chapter of Planned Parenthood improved and eight months later, Teri Huyck dropped ``interim'' from her title and officially took over as president and CEO. She began an aggressive fundraising campaign that raised an additional $500,000 and reorganized the organization.

Currently, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin employs about 200 people and has a $21 million annual budget that comes from state and federal funding, Medicaid and private-pay patients and private donations. Planned Parenthood provides health care to about 70,000 men and women a year across the state providing services that include: annual exams, cancer screening, colonoscopies, pregnancy testing and counseling, sexually transmitted disease testing and treatment, and abortions. Family planning and prevention accounts for more than 95 percent of the services Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin performs. The organization gives out 200,000 cycles of birth control pills per year. The majority of the women and men who come here are not seeking an abortion.

Ms. Huyck has made it her mission to be transparent and tells the unvarnished truth to everyone she meets. A self-proclaimed ``farm girl from Ohio,'' she joined the Planned Parenthood organization following a career as a hospital administrator in Ohio and Illinois who wanted to combine her skills in the health care field with her passion for women's issues. Teri remembers when Roe v. Wade was decided and learned her passion for women's issues from her mother. Teri's childhood friend was raped and as a result became pregnant in the mid-1970s. The friend chose abortion and was treated poorly. This incident left a lasting impression on her as well.

Teri has a Bachelor's degree in Psychology with high honors from Ohio State University and a Master's degree in Hospital and Health Administration from Xavier University in Cincinnati.

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to know and work with Teri since she assumed her role at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. We have stood together on many issues to ensure both women and men in Wisconsin have access to health care. I join with her family, friends and colleagues to congratulate her on her retirement. I wish her much success as she transitions into a different phase of her life with her husband, Perry who recently retired, as well. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to honor Teri Huyck. The citizens of the Fourth Congressional District and the State of Wisconsin are privileged to have someone of her ability and dedicated service working on their behalf for so many years. I am honored for these reasons to pay tribute to Ted Huyck.

I thank the ranking member.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong, strong opposition to this legislation that seeks to overturn carefully crafted SEC anticorruption rules for extractive industries.

Section 1504 requires that gas and oil companies that are listed on U.S. exchanges to disclose payments made to foreign governments. Congress mandated these rules in Dodd-Frank, and it was a bicameral decision. It was thoughtful and bipartisan. There were multiple hearings in both Chambers and a conference report.

These Dodd-Frank rules were the first of their kind, and they have become the model for 30 other industrialized countries' own rules. These rules have been so necessary because of the so-called resource curse, in which we have seen countries--particularly Africa--that have lots of resources, but there is widespread poverty because of the corruption of these extractive industries. Surprisingly, these companies have implemented them, and they are currently complying with them globally.

Now, we have heard a whole lot of whining and, quite frankly, lying about how these regulations have cost us jobs; but, certainly, the Obama economy has created a lot of prosperity. In fact, Mr. Speaker, investor advocates at asset management companies and civil society groups that are fighting corruption and instability support these rules. We should be supporting them. In fact, companies that have $10 trillion under management say that these disclosures help them manage risk.

Now, I am not going to go into a long-winded explanation of the ills and issues related to illicit payments related to extractive industries to foreign governments. We know about them. I guess that we are appalled by this vote, but I guess it's the beginning that we are going to be appalled for the next 1,500 days.

It shouldn't be surprising, Mr. Speaker, that the friend and ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin--and now President Trump's nominee for Secretary of State--Rex Tillerson lobbied against this very rule when he was at Exxon. Specifically, he said it would hurt their Russian operations. Transparency will hurt ExxonMobil's Russian operations.

So the question has just got to be asked, Mr. Speaker: What does that mean?

Mr. Speaker, just the implication that transparency is going to hurt Putin's Russia is prima facie proof that we need these rules.

What payments to Putin does Rex Tillerson not want shareholders and the American people to see?

Today, we should be demanding more transparency and not less from the most conflicted President and administration in history. We are now trying to make transactions less apparent.

All my colleagues should reject this joint resolution, not only on substance, but it is an abuse of the Congressional Review Act.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Fort Worth for yielding this time to me.

I could just tell you that it is deja vu all over again. When President George W. Bush lost the election in 2000, he engaged in a lengthy investigation over so-called voter fraud to deflect from the fact that he, in fact, lost the popular vote, as did President Donald Trump. These allegations of voter fraud do nothing but to continue to bankrupt the Treasury. When, as the gentleman from New Jersey just pointed out, Loyola Law School did an extensive study, they found 31 cases of voter impersonation out of 1 billion votes cast in the last 14 years. We don't have enough time for me to do the math on that, but it is de minimis.

I can tell you that real voter fraud is voter suppression. 2016 was the very first Presidential election in 50 years, gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands, that we didn't have the full protection of voting rights in 14 States, and it showed, including in my own swing State of Wisconsin. Brand-new voting ID restrictions disproportionately suppressed African American, low-income citizens' votes.

According to a Federal Court, nearly 300,000 registered voters in Wisconsin--in my State--could not obtain the voter ID required by the imposition of these new laws. Throughout the country, we saw 868 fewer polling places. We saw these voter ID laws, and we saw just a reinvention of these painful and unjust poll taxes and remnants of poll taxes and literacy tests imposed upon African Americans.

I can tell you, if there is any voter suppression, it is voter denial in this country; and I would call for, instead of spending taxpayer dollars to find 5 million votes that President Trump claimed voted for Hillary Clinton, I would rather spend that money investigating the Russian hacks into our election.

Madam Speaker, I want to answer his question with a question.

Do you care about the 4 million children today that live off of less than $2 a day and live in extreme poverty and they are alive? No, you don't.

Let me quote our Founding Father Samuel Adams. ``. . . freedom of thought and the right of private judgement in matters of conscience direct their course to this happy country. . . .''

The First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, the 14th Amendment, all sort of convene to this notion of rights of privacy in this country, except when it comes to women and their bodies.

Republicans continue to wreak havoc for women's health, operating as if they have some sort of moral imperative to tell us. Get your laws off our bodies.